Overdue
by Halestrom
Summary: Shikamaru wanted nothing more than to go to her and bring her back to his bed; but he knew that it wouldn't end like the romance novels. No clichés, no fairy tale endings, and he wouldn't get the girl. Shikatema. First fanfic.
1. Day One

**_A/N: I am ending this as a one-shot, but could very well turn into more if reviewers would like it to continue. Rating M for smut; just how I like it ;) First fanfic, enjoy._**

_Day One_

The sun was overhead; searing the un-shaded scalps and shoulders of the volunteers. Konoha had been hard at work trying to repair the damage done to the village during the war. Everyone had come together, young and old, to build new buildings, patch the salvageable ones and to paint. The young children ran around covered head to toe in every color imaginable, until they were wrangled up to pass out waters. The elders primarily helped with plans and the deviation of work. The women were the best and worse part about the whole thing, well at least to Shikamaru. When they weren't barking out orders they all got together in the evening and made a giant feast.

Somehow he was stuck on roof duty, which wasn't all that bad because on a break he could just flip over and cloud watch. But everything else sucked about it. He was pummeled by the constant rays of the summer sun, was on his knees hunched over from eight in the morning till seven in the evening, and his hammer was possessed. Or at least he swears it is. His left hand had felt the brunt on the evil tool for the past week and he was tempted to chuck the damn thing.

Shikamaru glance down to see what the commotion below him was about and he couldn't help but to smile at the sight. Suna had sent help and the new volunteers were led by Wind Witch herself. She brought along three chunnin, all male, and four genin. Temari greeted the elder who was handling plans for this district; she was asking him for the run down and were her troops were best needed. She smiled at the elder and said something that made him blush before she directed her companions.

"Team three you get paint duty in district B. Genin in those groups must be supervised." She stressed the end of her sentence with almost a growl. "Team two, you'll be in district B on construction and Team one you'll be with me here in district A. Any questions should be directed to the elders or Jounin in your district. We'll meet back here o nineteen hours, disband."

Without hesitation the groups took off, leaving Temari and two genin. One girl and one boy.

"Temari-sensei, what are we going to do?" The brown-haired girl asked. Her gaze on Temari told the wondrous respect she had for the older woman.

"Mei you and Sho will be on water duty; the supplies are in that building." She pointed to the main building.

"Yes Temari-sensei." They said in unison before dispersing.

The blonde striped her chest guard and fish nets off before putting on a pair of knee pads. She wrapped the tool belt around her thick waist before she made eye contact with Shikamaru.

"You mind if I join you?" She called out, one hand shielding her eyes from his second mortal enemy, the sun.

He shrugged his shoulders, which she naturally took as a yes. Before long she was standing over him, with less clothes than he'd ever seen her in before. Just a white tank top and black spandex shorts.

"Don't stare too hard Nara, my body tends to blow minds." She smirked placing her hands on her tool belted hips. "And lets face it, your mind is the only thing you've got going for you."

"Rich clan that provides the village it's medical supplies tends to help." The blonde scowled at him, taking her spot next to him. He couldn't help but to copy her haughty smirk. "Just sayin'."

Temari muttered 'prick' at him and started right away at re-shingling the roof. He chuckled at her and she couldn't help but grin. They had come along way from when they were kids. A long way in the sense that they hated one another and now they were best friends. When she was forced to take time off, she came to see him and enjoy a couple of weeks of Konoha's splendid weather. They spent most of their time delving into the knowledge contained in their brilliant minds; he was constantly amazed how he could hold intelligent conversation with her. If he had asked her who was on the cover of Shinobi Gazette this month she would have no idea. But ask her how this past war resembled and contrasted with those in the past, well, she'd give you a dissertation.

With his mind being elsewhere, he shouted as the sudden pain resonated from his thumb. Attack of the evil hammer part three.

"Have you ever nailed anything before?" Temari paused at her wording and decided to correct herself. "Have you ever used a hammer before?"

"Yes and yes." The side of his lips quirked upward, mocking her with his subtle gesture.

She scoffed and stole his hammer from his grip. "Hold the nail between your forefinger and your thumb, methodically tap the head of the nail and once you have it deep enough to stand on its own _then_ you can hit it like you're wielding a club."

"Temari, I'm a man," Stealing his hammer back; preparing to nail in the next shingle. "I just know how to do these kind of things."

"Well it's not the hammer's fault your brain is swelling with chauvinist gender role ideals."

"Well it is the hammer's fault for my swelling thumb."

"Actually its not." She huffed.

Shikamaru flipped on to his back muttering 'break time'. The blonde shook her head in exasperation before casting him a scolding glance. He took the time to really look at her while she continued her work. Temari had become a very beautiful woman. She was always good-looking, more on the curvy side; which still is the case. In the past years, her face had shed its roundness becoming more lean and angled. Her increase of height let her weight disperse more evenly. She was a bombshell and her lack of clothing was making him more uncomfortable than he would have liked; well at least in public.

He had always imagined what it would be like with Temari; sexually and emotionally. Since she saved him during the Sasuke retrieval mission it was safe to say that he had envisioned her in more precarious ways. Whenever he pleased himself it was almost always to her, even during the times he was in a relationship or having sex with other people. The furthest their relationship had ever been was a kiss.

They had just finished eating dinner, both a little pink in the cheeks from the saki they drank. Shikamaru had walked her back to her apartment and they were saying their goodbyes. Temari had leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. It wasn't soft nor was it demanding, just a normal kiss. She turned from him and went inside, leaving him glued to the door mat. That normal kiss was the beginning of chapter in their relationship, the chapter where Shikamaru realized he wanted to be with her.

The lazy ninja snapped from his thoughts when the young Suna nin that Temari brought along joined them on the roof. She walked precariously along the slanted roof while balancing their water in her hands.

"Focus your chakra in your feet, Mei." Temari advised the young girl. "Every step, heel-foot-toes-release."

"Ok." Mei, the lithe brunette, said hesitantly. She paused and continued moving forward. "Temari-sensei! Look I'm doing it!"

"Slow and steady." Temari smiled and took the water container from the brunette. "Thank you Mei."

Shikamaru took the water and muttered a 'thanks'. Mei took off with a smile on her face. "She sure is a happy one. I thought Suna only produced hot-headed brooders."

Temari scowled at him, "I'm sure she would be if she had gone through the culling."

"Culling?" He had never heard of such a thing for ninja, well at least Konoha had no such thing.

"During the academy you have to go through torture simulation." Temari's voice was low and bitter. "The boys are tortured for two days and if they don't break they are allowed to continue on with their training. The girls are raped for two days then tortured for another two days; and if they pass their psych evaluation then they are allowed to continue."

Shikamaru couldn't respond. All he could think about was the female shinobi from Suna that he had met, the few of them. Temari. The look in her eyes were dark and steely.

Temari's voice softened. "Matsuri, Sari and Maki didn't go through it, so don't treat them like their broken."

"Are you implying that you are?"

There was a silence between them for a moment. Temari opened and shut her mouth; trying to find the right words. "You're an idiot. You know that?"

"How can I forget?" He griped. "You remind me constantly."

"Well as long as you know."

Taking the hint she no longer wanted to pursue the previous topic, he went back to work. His pace was sluggish; he sighed and grimaced at every chance knowing it irked Temari to no end.

They continued along with their work till the shadows from the setting sun obstructed the work. Temari stopped to enjoy the sunset and Shikamaru watched her. Her features were warmed by the burnt sienna skies and it gave her a glow he'd only witnessed from pregnant mothers. The sudden thought of Temari pregnant knotted his stomach. He knew through their talks that she wasn't seeing anyone and definitely not slandering her name by sleeping around. But one day she'd get married and eventually would have a child with another man. Political marriages have spiked between the villages now that there was nothing to keep them peaceful. Tsunade let it slip that Iwa had been pressuring Suna; the conflict between the villages had already resulted in two small scale skirmishes. Suna only had two people worthy enough to offer: Kankuro and Temari.

"You're staring again." Her gaze stayed transfixed on the darkening horizon.

"You look so peaceful. I'm waiting for you to turn into a demon or something."

"Shikamaru Nara!" A female voice screamed from below them. It was his mother. "Don't you speak to Temari like that! Rude little shit."

Temari waved, "Hello Yoshino."

"Temari, dear, come down so I can see you." Yoshino beamed at the younger woman and Temari leapt to her feet making her way down to the brunette. His mother inspected Temari closely; pointing out her weight loss with much disapproval. Regardless, the blonde saved face and drew his mother in for a hug. They were so similar it freaked Shikamaru out. His dad was right about troublesome women and he had been right about the Nara genes. "Now gather up your team, dear, so we can feed you all. Plus we need some meat on your bones if you're going to give me grand-babies."

"Temari-sensei, is that true?" Mei and the three other genin stared at her as if she had actually turned into a demon.

"No." Temari waved her hand dismissively. "Shikamaru and I are just friends."

"For now." The dark-haired woman offered her two-sense. "As head of our family Shikamaru will have to settle down soon enough. I've decided you're the woman for him. Now he can't complain about how finding an appropriate woman is 'troublesome' or 'a drag'."

Temari caught sight of Shikamaru hanging his head in embarrassment; she held back the laughter that tickled her stomach. She would spare him, but just this one.

"Yoshino, I am dying for that food." Temari took a large whiff of the air and sighed happily. She hoped the older woman would take the bait of the new conversation. "I've been smelling it for the past half hour."

Yoshino chuckled and led them to the communal dinning area. There were about sixty tables all together, some pushed together and others separated by great distance. Practically the village piled into the area; all sweaty, tired and with smiles that reached from ear to ear. They lined up into seven different lines to get their plates and it didn't take long for the line to move. Within fifteen minutes Temari was sitting down with her fellow ninja and a few leaf as well.

Chouji and Ino were at the table adjacent to her; once Chouji saw Temari, he lifted the table with Ino still sitting and place it next to hers. The conversations were nice idle chit-chat. She enjoyed Shikamaru's friends. Chouji was the most fun of the three, they both had an insatiable love for food and it had sparked quite the eating contest in the past. Ino, in the beginning, represented everything she hated in a woman: obsessed with gossip, overly girly and two-faced. She had grown as a person from then; but retained a mature version of her earlier self. They were a great team and even better friends; and they accepted her into it.

Shikamaru sat silently beside her, sharing a casual glance or off-handed comment every now again. Their arms brushed together with every movement but neither displayed the effect it had on their bodies.

"So when are you and Shikamaru going to get together?" Ino leaned against her palm with a smirk laced on her full lips.

"Not this again." The lazy chunin groaned and palmed his forehead. He looked to Temari with an apologetic smile, "I don't know why everyone in my village is against us."

"It sounds like they are 'for' us." Temari mimicked Ino's actions, looking intently on the pale blonde. "When are you and Chouji going to get together?"

Chouji's started to choke on the food he inhaled when he gasped. Ino stared wide-eyed at the situation before her, a furious blush printed on her cheeks and ears. Shikamaru just chuckled.

"Yea, just as a thought." The Suna blonde grinned mischievously. "Serves you right to relentlessly pick on Shikamaru and I."

"I-I... eh." Ino stammered. "It's different!"

"Mhm." Temari's smirk was still in place, inflated by her ego at the moment.

"Temari." One of the Suna nin called, he pointed to the genin who were trying to stay awake. They had traveled three days straight and then worked.

The blonde stood up, "Konoha doesn't have room to house us. So you'll have to squeeze into my apartment. Mei and I will be staying with the Naras."

Temari's apartment. Shikamaru's safe haven during his teen years. She allowed him to stay, while she was away, if he made sure to air it out and keep it clean. It was a three bedroom, one for each of the sand siblings, two and a half bath. It was perfect for him and her. They had some good memories there, like that kiss.

Shikamaru stood up, "I'll go with. So I can escort you women to the compound."

Temari nodded and they walked to the apartment. Temari got the men settled in. Three in the bedroom, one on the couch and the genin on the floor. She gave them instructions for the morning and information to contact her in case of emergency. Temari threatened any life who dare destroy her apartment and the group understood she was serious. Shikamaru and Temari had to walk at a slower pace for Mei whom was nearly falling over from exhaustion.

"Mei, would you like me to carry you?" Temari squatted down. The little girl nodded and crawled on to Temari's back; almost falling asleep instantly.

"I can carry her." Shikamaru offered but the blonde just shook her head no. He shoved his hands in his pockets, grasping the cigarettes that he couldn't smoke; well at least in front of Temari. Every time she has caught him smoking, she punched him in the gut. Hard too.

"Don't even think about it Nara." The blonde warned, her eyes intent on his pant's pocket. "In a world full of danger, you don't want to die by a disgusting habit."

"Speaking of disgusting habits," Shikamaru spare her a narrowed glare, "Iwa is attacking Suna again?"

Temari scoffed, "Bunch of ass-wipes. Suna has always been in terrible economic predicaments and Iwa sees that as a weakness. They see it as their duty to civilize our backwater country. I'll show them how 'uncivilized' I am when I beat the shit out of them."

"Are they looking to resolve the conflict in any other way?"

"Yea, the daimyo's son Ichiru wants to marry me. Something on the lines of 'I wanna break that Suna bitch for maiming me'." Temari met Shikamaru's scowl with brisk laughter. "It's not going to happen. The council sees me as a more valuable piece than to be given away to Iwa; after my death the war would continue. That little shit Ichiru would do his damnedest to kill me too. I broke his jaw in the last battle, it felt great."

"You are so good at making friends." Shikamaru shook his head. He was relieved that his fears for her, at least for now, were nullified. Though it sounded as if this Ichiru character was going to be troublesome.

"I'm friends with you aren't I?" She growled. It was hard to take her seriously with she gave a child a piggy back ride.

"Looks like mom went to bed." Shikamaru observed the house was dark and only the porch light was on. He opened the door for Temari and led her inside. "I'll go check to see what room you're both going to sleep in."

Temari nodded but her gaze was locked in the living room, "Shikamaru... why aren't there cushions on the couch?"

He shrugged as he went up the stairs and his eyes met instantly with the note on his bedroom door. "What now?"

_Shikamaru,_

_I forgot Temari was bringing her genin to stay with us so I gave the fourth bedroom to a traveler that came into town. The little girl can stay in the third bedroom and I guess you and Temari will have to share your bed... Don't even think about the couch, you'll never find the cushions._

_Love Mom_

He felt Temari coming up from behind him, huffing at the weight of the body on her back. "What's going on?"

"My mother is being devious." He held the note up for her to read.

"Let me put her to bed and we can discuss this predicament." Shikamaru held open the door for Temari as the blonde gently laid the girl in bed. Removing her sandals and headband before covering her with the thin white sheet. They went downstairs and sat at the island in the center of the kitchen.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "Sorry."

Temari laughed, "It's ok. I expected something like this would occur some day. I mean after all your mother reads those silly romance novels. Those damn things are jammed packed with cliché's. Only one bed so we have to share. I'm forced to marry someone, so you finally summons the courage to be with me. We are best friends so we must be in love."

"So you are being forced to marry someone?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. What?" Temari stumbled, "I was just naming off cliché's. Are you saying we are a cliché'? Are you saying you're in love with me?"

Shikamaru felt his face spike in temperature, "No. You damn women are always so troublesome, twisting my words."

"You twisted mine first."

"Always needing the last word." Shikamaru sighed, putting the kettle on the stove. "Tea?"

Temari nodded, "Yeah, thanks. So forgetting the awfully awkward topic we just confused ourselves with; sleeping arrangements?"

"You can take my bed and I'll take the floor." He grabbed two mugs for them both, pouring the piping hot liquid inside. "Honey no sugar, right?"

"Yes." She smiled, "This is the first time I didn't have to force you to make me tea."

Shikamaru paused; realizing his actions. He was whipped, they weren't even in a relationship and he was whipped. "Would you rather I dump it? Or are you going to thank me?"

Temari rolled her eyes, "Thank you Shikamaru for making me a cup of tea; you're too gracious oh wise one."

"Less sarcasm and I might get use to that." He smiled and she followed suit.

"We can share your bed." Temari was looking down into her steaming cup, "Unless you're uncomfortable with that."

"What about the whole cliché thing?" He watched her run her index finger around the rim of the glass.

"Not to worry. In the real world cliché's never end well." She took a sip, humming from the warmth in her throat. "So don't worry about falling madly in love with me."

Too late.

"I don't want anyone to question your honor if it got out that we shared a bed." Shikamaru took the more gentleman route versus the one he desperately wanted her to force him down.

"You're being such a girl today." Temari looked at him with her beautiful teal eyes. They were scanning him, asking what was wrong.

"I'm just tired." He yawned. It wasn't a lie because he definitely was dead tired.

"Then go to bed, in your bed." Temari tilted her head upstairs. "I'm going to shower and I'll squeeze in bed with Mei. Don't give me anymore grief, I've made up my mind."

Shikamaru sighed and made his way to his room, "Fine. Night."

He stripped down to his boxers and laid in bed trying to steady his thoughts; it was hard being lazy and a genius. Wanting to fall asleep but your mind wants nothing more than to dissect and analyse today's events. He listened to Temari's footsteps into the bathroom, the shower turning on and the curtain parting for her to enter. He could see it all and it made his body uncomfortable. His hand reached into his pants and imagined Temari in the shower pleasuring herself. Shikamaru was throbbing at the thought; his hand moved frantically up and down his shaft.

She moaned at the warm water against her tired body but to Shikamaru's fantasy it was her finding her clit; teasing it till her legs shook with pleasure. He was getting so close; his toes curled at the tension that spread all throughout his body. She called his name as she kneaded her breast and rubbing her clit; over and over again she moaned his name. His jaw clamped shut to muffle the groans from his climax; his cum dripping on his hand and abdomen. The most troublesome part of masturbating; the cleanup.

He grabbed the hand towel he had stashed next to his nightstand and promptly cleaned himself. The best part of masturbating is the numbness his brain felt, allowing him to fall asleep. He would probably dream about her tonight and repeat the process in the morning. The shower water stopped and he listened to her grabbing a towel from the cabinet and then hanging it up. Her feet padded to the room next to him and groan; she probably realized how small the bed really was. A full size bed for the two of them.

Shikamaru wanted nothing more than to go to her and bring her back to his bed; but he knew that it wouldn't end like the romance novels. No cliché's, no fairy tale endings, and he wouldn't get the girl.

* * *

**Or will he?**


	2. Day Two: Part 1

**A/N: I am so happy for all of the feedback I've received for this story, so I am going to continue on ;) Some are a little concernicus about the tragedy aspect of this story and I only elevate your worries by saying... no heart is safe. Dun dun dun.**

_Day Two_

Temari rolled over in the bed, catching the nightstand before she fell. It had been a restless sleep to say the least. The young girl she shared the bed with tossed and turned, shoving her knees into the older blonde's rib cage. Her unkempt hair tickled Temari's face and found its way into her mouth. The last straw was when Temari woke up with Mei's face pinning down her hand, drool dribbling down her forearm.

Temari swung her feet over the side of the bed, timidly pressing her toes against the hardwood floors; the deathly chill shot up her legs and shocked her body. That was the thing she hated the most about Konoha, the initial chill of the floor against bare feet. Once her feet adjusted to the temperature, she silently left the room and traveled to the kitchen. Her first destination was the coffee maker. She waited eagerly for the brilliant invention to satisfy her caffeine addiction and hopefully to lighten her foul mood. Her foul mood caused by her bed mate and none other than the lazy genius himself. The coffee maker beeped signalling its completion, and Temari eagerly made herself cup; taking it black.

Shikamaru was acting, well to put it bluntly, like a girl. He seemed to be so concerned about her yesterday, too concerned. Almost as if he knew something that she didn't. He was pushing the political marriage crap but there wasn't talk of anything of the like; not that she knew about at least. Tsunade, Yoshino and Ino had been pushing Shikamaru at her more frequently than usual too. But Temari knew better, Gaara would have at least informed her of the thought. Then there was the whole cliche fiasco; where she accused him of loving her.

"Yeah, fat chance of that." Temari grumbled into her mug.

She had been coping with her unrequited love since the chunnin exams, although she mistook it for unbridled hatred for nearly a year. Despite her outer protest of the shadow user and vehement denial of any form of intimate relationship with him, she couldn't shake the admiration and respect she held for him.

Time and time again she tried to tell herself that it was friendship pretending to be more; that it wasn't real. But it was the war that proved to her otherwise, once and for all. With death nipping at their heels, she wanted to protect him, selfishly protect him. If he died, she would have to live without him. That's when she knew that she truly loved him.

"Well, as much as one can muster for a pest." She mused aloud.

She paused almost expecting Shikamaru to morph out of the shadows to mock her; saying something like 'do you always speak to yourself' or something witty like that. That would be too predictable.

Temari looked towards the stairs, sensing someone was coming down them; most likely the traveler who stole her bed. Sure enough, an older man made his way into her line of sight. He bowed his head in her direction and exited the front door.

"Asshat." She grumbled, subconsciously rubbing her sore ribs.

She almost wished the man had stayed and annoyed her with frivolous questions; anything to occupy the void of silence she was enduring. The sound of her mug against the counter-top, the scraping of the chair legs when she shifted to keep her rear from going numb, and her sighs of boredom were enough to fear she was being too loud for those still asleep. Temari got up from her seat and went upstairs, seeking some human interaction. She was going to annoy her lazy friend.

Temari snuck into his room, suppressing her chakra, and slowly crept to his bedside. She found it extremely hard to contain the laughter bubbling in her chest. She reached to shake him and in an instant she realized her foolishness. She literally tried to sneak up on a deadly sleeping ninja. Shikamaru flipped his body over, grabbing her by her throat and pinning her on the bed beneath him. She watched his eyes go from a look that could only be described with the word 'kill' to fear. He quickly released his grasp but remained frozen above her.

"What the hell were you doing?" He seethed, more angry with himself than with her. "I could have killed you!"

His hot breath batted at her lips and their closeness sent shivers down her back. She'd imagined him above her countless times before, wearing nothing but a smile. Temari chuckled, "At least then you would have proof that at least one girl has been in your bed."

Shikamaru's eyes moved from her face to her chest, with the grace of a brain dead deer he flung himself to the end of the bed. For a moment she felt that she had taken it too far, that she should have taken the situation more seriously, but she caught sight of something that made her blush and then grin maniacally.

"Say Shikamaru, is that a kunai in your pocket? Or are you just happy to see me?" She scooted towards him, her fanatical grin only widening.

"You're one to talk." He grumbled, his face bright with embarrassment as he tried to hide his tented boxers. "Is it cold in here?"

She knew fully well that she wasn't wearing a bra and she could feel the tightening in her nipples. But she also knew that she had the upper-hand in this battle and for once she wouldn't loose to him. She leaned her chest against his arm, his bicep planted between her thinly covered breasts. His cock was stiff as a rod and clearly visible through his boxers, despite his attempt to hide it beneath his hands. She was impressed to say the least.

"So are we going to chalk this up to morning wood or" Temari grabbed his chin so she could look him in the eye, "are you attracted to me?"

His face was so rigid and strong, defending his manhood with every pore. His eyes were pleading with her, he didn't want to answer; he knew it was a trap either way he responded. Morning wood meant that he didn't find her attractive and the other was damning because he was uncertain of how she would respond to it. She was his partner first, friend second, a woman third and dead last was the real annoying stuff.

"Temari-sensei?" Came a soft voice from the hallway. "Where are you? I don't know where the bathroom is!"

Her gaze on him faltered, knowing that, yet again, she had lost to him: but on a technicality this round. "Saved by the brat."

She left the bed, leaving him to either rid his boner or think of what the hell had transpired between them. Temari met Mei in the hallway, showing her the bathroom, how to work the shower and where the towels were. She went into the bedroom where had barely slept and dressed for another day of manual labor. Her short spandex ninja shorts and a black long-sleeve top; another outfit for Shikamaru to stare at her in. Once she returned downstairs, Shikamaru was searching through the cupboards frantically.

"Searching for a portal to a non-female inhabited world?" She smiled, pouring herself another cup of coffee.

"Couch cushions." Was all he said, not attempting to make eye contact at all.

"Your mother said in her letter that you wouldn't find them. So where wouldn't you look?" Temari offered. Which obviously meant that they were in Yoshino's crafts and cleaning closet.

Sure enough Shikamaru made his way to the door and began to unload the cushions from their hiding spot. He returned them to their home and returned upstairs. Temari stood to follow him but Mei came bounding down to her.

"Temari-sensei are we going to go have breakfast with everyone?" The brunette asked.

At Temari's apartment the breakfast was quaint and quiet, spare for the groans of the genin complaining at the hour. She would mock them by reminding them that their work day started at seven. Once they had finished they went to the work areas they had done the previous day, trying to keep high spirits despite the unusual chill in the air. Shikamaru had joined her group thirty minutes past the hour with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Temari's heart sank when he chose the roof across the road from her.

She worked for hours in silence with only the sound of her hammer against the nails and her thoughts to keep her company. She had fucked up. Shikamaru wouldn't even look at her, he was purposefully ignoring her. Her friendship with Shikamaru was precious to her and her quest to force him to have feelings toward her obscured that important detail. She would choose him over herself; friendship over romance. To her depths she wished she could apologize but even thought of those words on her lips felt like bile in her throat. Sorry, that's all she needed and wanted to say; but her pride and stupidity, which was partly why they were in this situation, forced her to choose the low road.

The sky began to darken and Temari could smell the rain on the air. She stood on the roof looking towards the east and sure enough the dark charcoal clouds lit up with streaks of lightening. She had just removed half of the roof and it would take at least thirty minutes to patch that up. By the look of the oncoming horizon, she didn't have that long.

Temari quickly made her way down to the street grabbing as many boards of plywood as she could carry. As soon as she reached the roof she began to nail them into place. She had managed to get most of it done before the sporadic droplets hit her spine and calves. A crackle of thunder broke causing many to jump, droplets of water pelted her skin and wood beneath her.

The elder on the street below yelled up at the workers on the roofs, "We have to seal any holes with plywood right now!"

"It's the middle of summer! What the hell?" She realized she was one plank short. Of course. Temari yelled down to Mei, "Get me a piece of plywood, quick!"

She damned herself for picking a three story building. By the time her genin made it to the roof the storm was already in full swing, the rainfall was so dense that it was impossible to see a foot in front of herself. Mei awkwardly held down the piece of wood while Temari wildly hammered away.

"Mei go ahead and go down! I've got this!" Temari began to nail the last one in.

The thin brunette made a dash to the latter. Temari heard the thud against the roof, the piercing scream that issued from the girl and without realizing it she too was no longer on the roof. She lept blindly towards the scream, propelling herself towards Mei's falling body. Temari cocooned her body around the girl before her left side hit the ground, on impact she rolled herself to her feet in one fluid turn. Checking Mei before she sent her with Sho the other genin.

"Take her to the apartment, I have medical supplies in the bathroom!" Temari screamed over the thunder and the deafening thunder and rain.

"You're bleeding!" Mei wailed, struggling to get out of Sho's grasp. "You're arm!"

"Go! Now!" Temari could feel the dead weight of her left arm unable to move it in the slightest. The genin were soon lost against the rivets of gray and a haze began to cloud her vision. The adrenaline began to fade and she felt the pain erupt from her side. Her ears rang with the screeching buzz that dropped her to her knees.

She blinked slowly, regaining some kind of hold of her blurred vision and he was there in front of her. Seemingly out of no where, he appeared kneeling in front of her and he was yelling; but she couldn't make sense of it. Just far off graveled noise.

"Shikamaru?"

She blinked again and she was in his arms, her head bouncing against his moving chest. His chest rattled with ragged breath and his distant voice echoed in his rib cage. His arms were wrapped around her so tightly, one at her shoulders and the other at the hook of her knees. He's so warm. Yet again she forced her eyes closed and open again, he was sitting in the middle of the living room flood digging through an elaborate med kit. Blood was smeared all over his flak jacket, she wondered who it belonged to; he looked uninjured. Her eyelids were so heavy, she strained to keep them open something inside her warned her to stay awake. The feeling was overcoming her.

"Temari! You need to stay awake!" Why? She was so tired. "You may have a concussion. Tell me a story."

"Of what?" Came a pitiful whimper, "What the fuck, was that my voice?"

He chuckled and paused for a moment of thought, "Tell me about your mother. You hear me complain about mine, so I want to hear about yours."

Her head was still swimming in confusion but she had a better grasp at reality. The buzzing in her ears was slowly fading and her sight wasn't swaying like she had too many saki bombs.

"I don't remember much of her to be honest. The only reason I remember what she looks like from photos. She had brown hair, my eyes and a tender smile. I remember when I would hug her she smelt heavily of acrylic paint and vanilla perfume. She was an excellent painter and I have all her works that I managed to save-"

She flinched as he poured a cold liquid down her arm and side, it burned against her flesh and the sensation boggled her mind. Cool water burns?

"I have a memory of her trying to manage my hair and nothing would work out for her. She finally resigned to grabbing four lumps of hair and putting them into pony-tails."

"So that's why you have that awful hair do."

"You're one to talk." Temari murmured. She craned her neck to check out her wounds but the pain in her shoulder forced her head back down. "Dirty boy; usually its dinner before you take my top off."

He grunted in response, which in turn made her laugh. "How bad is it?"

"Dislocated shoulder, some bruised ribs and lots of scrapes. Not to mention your concussion." Shikamaru sighed, "You're already bruising, it looks gruesome."

"Sweet." She smiled giddily and he just shook his head at her.

"Tell me about your first date." He said off offhandedly, trying to keep her mind alert but distracted from the pain.

"I've never had one." She whispered. Temari wasn't ashamed of the fact, no man had ever been so ballsy as to ask her out. She was beautiful, strong and intelligent; she was pretty sure the problem didn't lie with her. Most likely it was her family and her reputation. "No one has ever asked me out."

"I find that hard to believe." Shikamaru tentatively applied a wrap to her arm. "How 'bout one with me?"

She looked away from him, afraid that her face beaming in delight. Her heart was throbbing painfully, its rapid pace drumming in her ears. Temari nodded her head, "Yeah sure."

"I thought you'd put up more of a struggle than that." She heard him chuckle but still hid her ridiculous smile.

"Did you want me to say no?" Temari growled at him. "I can always take it back."

"I would have been fine with either answer." He commented lazily.

"Well I'm not letting a free meal slip through my grasp that easily." She snorted, giving him an evil eye.

"That's the kind of answer I expected." Shikamaru adjusted her shoulder so that it was hanging off the edge. He looked down at her, his eyes were soft and apologetic. He entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her arm down towards her thighs.

Temari threw her head back in the cushions. The simple action felt as if her arm was being torn off, like each tendon being pulled apart like taffy. "God damn it Shikamaru! Just fucking fix the shit already!"

He growled at her, "Calm down woman, this is the best way."

"Why did you do this last!" She kneed him in his side, "Why didn't you do it while I was all crazy and shit!"

"Stop swearing, you're suppose to be a lady." He pulled a big more on her arm and finally a loud 'pop', that was followed by a bigger muffled scream.

"Fucking whore face!" Temari kicked her legs at the pain, holding back any pesky tears that sprung up. The pain and most importantly the anger subsided with the next passing minutes. Shikamaru lifted her up and wrapped her shoulder and arm in a sling. "Thanks."

"Can I get you anything?" He packed up the med kit and left it on the counter. Knowing Temari she'd open up wounds and they'd need to be redressed.

"Pain killers and a book."

"You wont be able to read very well with one arm and a concussion." He countered.

"I won't be the one reading." She smirked at him, "How else do you expect me to stay awake?"

"Troublesome woman."

Once he left the room, she allowed herself to grasp the gravity of what had just occurred. Shikamaru asked her out and she said yes. Things were about to get complicated because hell just froze over.

* * *

**Lots of swearing; I apologize but I guess my version of Temari must be a sailor or something. Anyways next chapter will be posted in roughly a week, if college is nice to me that is. A little shorter than last chapter but I'll make up for it with the next.**


	3. Day Two: Part 2

_Day Two continued..._

Shikamaru sat on the couch reading _Tales of the Shinobi Lover_ aloud; while Temari rested on the arm chair with ice packs on her head, shoulder and hip. Frankly he could care less that he was reading such a distasteful piece of literature because Temari just agreed to go on a date with him. He had tried to play the nonchalant and adverse role but when she more or less said yes; he was grinning in joy. He was glad she was looking away from him because he couldn't contain the relief and sheer happiness that took hold over his face.

The scary part of it was he didn't even plan on asking her. The thought crossed his mind, mentally remarking that would be an awful decision, and then his mouth was talking on its own accord. He'd been in imminent death situations before, but a slip of words caused a new kind of fear to settle in his gut. Five words could have ended a relationship built over eight years or at least made it extremely uncomfortable and awkward. She answered as if he asked her if she wanted tea or if she wanted the last piece of barbecue. 'Yeah sure'. It was better than no, so he took it in stride.

"That Mako seems like a real dunce." Temari got up and began to pace the room; he knew just by the look in her eyes that she was dead tired. "It's obvious that he and Asano are perfect for each other."

He paused from his reading and thoughtfully considered the book. The main protagonists were ninja from different villages, tended to work with each other often enough to have formed mutual feelings for one another, and they were almost complete opposites. It almost sounded too familiar.

"They are good friends, he doesn't want to ruin that." Shikamaru offered, knowing the feeling too well.

"But they will have a happy ending." Temari snatched the book from his hands and thumbed to the last page. "See? They kiss and realize that home is wherever the other person is. So he should just nut up or shut up, enough of this woe is me shit."

"You can't just flip to the end of the book in life." Shikamaru eyed her as she clung to mantel above the fireplace. "You alright?"

"Just dizzy." She waved him off but he knew that she was just saving face. He walked over grabbing her firmly by the shoulders to sit her back down. "I am fine."

"I know you are."

"I can't believe it's still raining, it's almost dinner time." Temari looked at the clock the clicked away in the corner, subconsciously rubbing her aching belly. "I don't think your mom is going to make it home tonight. I hope made it somewhere safe."

"She'll be fine. If it was her versus the storm, I'd be afraid for the storm."

Temari nodded but didn't look reassured. It was unnerving the similarities that Temari and his mother shared: headstrong, prone to bouts of violence, but had reserved gentle side. That gentle side is what scared him the most because it was unpredictable and it deceived him every time. Sweet and caring one second and the beating him the next. They were always throwing him off his game with curve balls.

"I'd like to cash in this 'date'." Temari stated definitively.

Shikamaru stared awkwardly back at her, "What?"

"You asked me on a date and I'd like to have that date now." Temari explained slowly. "Dinner?"

"So you didn't fight me about asking you out and now you're telling me what to do for the date... this is way too easy."

"What? I can be civil and decent sometimes. Romance is crap." She huffed, flicking a chunk of mud off her arm and in his direction. "Alcohol, food and some good conversation. Can you handle that?"

"I can manage." He scooted further away from her, "I'll make dinner, you should take a shower. Can you handle that?"

"You're lucky I'm a bum right now." The blonde growled, kicking him in the shin before heading upstairs.

"So much for civil and decent." He said under his breath.

"I heard that!"

Damn women and their selective hearing; twisting the good things and seeking out the bad. Shikamaru stood in the kitchen for about a minute before he realized that he doesn't cook. He shuffled through the cupboards trying to find anything. Rice, that was easy enough. He dug through the fridge, shortly pondering if Temari would mind his mother's leftovers. He decided against it, the repercussions could be disastrous. The freezer held more hope for Shikamaru, he pulled out a bag of frozen harvest vegetables; feeling confident that he could pull off stir fry.

The rice was in the steamer and the vegetables on the stove cooking with soy sauce and garlic. Shikamaru felt a little guilty for this makeshift date. Sure it was what Temari said she wanted, but even girls who say they don't want romance want romance. He pulled a bottle of wine from his mother's stash chilling it in the fridge till dinner was ready and he willed himself out into the rain to find the last ingredient to the date triangle.

He was sopping wet when he came back inside and Temari was at the stove mixing the vegetables in the wok. Her hair was wet and down for a change, he loved the transformation of her face with her hair framing it; she was beautiful. She wore a pastel lavender tank top with black sweatpants, she looked so comfortable it made Shikamaru's clothes itched to be changed. When she looked over at him he swore, for a split second, he saw a glimmer in her eyes. He presented a handful of peach colored roses to her.

She held the beaten up bouquet to her face and smiled at him, "Thank you Shikamaru."

"I'm gonna change real quick. Mind watching the food?"

She nodded and he raced to his bedroom. Since Temari had dressed in her sleep clothes, Shikamaru followed suit; putting on his green and black flannel night pants and a black tee-shirt. The lights in his room flickered before they died, leaving him in complete darkness. It reminded him that his mother had asked him to set up the backup generator; which he hadn't.

"Seriously?" He heard Temari groan and then she shrieked, "Ow! Fuckin' a! Shikamaru we need a light down here!"

He grabbed the lighter from his other pants and took the large orange candle from his mother's room. When he entered the kitchen the candle illuminated a scene which made him chuckle. Temari stood with the wok in one hand and part of her palm in her mouth.

"I burnt myself."

Shikamaru set the candle on the table and took the pan from her hand, "Sit and don't move, I swear you're going to use up all my bandages before the day is done. I'll plate this up and get you some ice."

"Gee thanks for the concern." She said sarcastically.

Luckily the rice had finished before the power went out. Put all together it certainly looked edible; which he was grateful for. He slid her plate in front of her while ziplocking a few ice cubes for her hand as well. Temari hummed with delight once she saw him pull out the wine and pouring a gracious amount in her glass.

"Made it a point that I didn't want romance and what did you do?" She chuckled, delight playing on her features. "Flowers, wine and dinner by candlelight."

"Just making due with what we have." He mumbled, slightly embarrassed with her hidden praise.

He watched as she ate silently, given him no hint on how the food tasted. It wasn't half bad, in his own opinion, but he recognized that half bad wasn't much to write home about either. However she did moan lightly after drinking the wine; Temari had grown a scary affection to alcohol with the past few years. He commented on it once and he's regretted it ever since. She was half way through her bottle of sake and he asked her if she wanted to be the kettle or the pot; referring to her chiding him about smoking. Temari didn't say anything to him. She just looked at him, her face flat and unmoving, but her eyes were haunting. Hollow and in their deepest depths was her screaming soul pleading for the end. He just shut up and felt like a dick for the rest of the evening.

"You've made it a habit of staring at me the past two days. You becoming some kind of creep?" Temari quirked her eyebrow. "Or are you checking out my ugly bruises?"

He caught the sight of the black and purple staining that crept from her hairline, it was dark and ugly. He had been beating himself up about the whole incident. Instead of manning up and accepting what had transpired that morning, he ran like a dog with its tail between its legs. He could have been on that roof with her. "Sorry about not working with you this morning."

Temari caught his gaze and her words caught in her throat; she struggled to say something but it refused to come out.

"Is it that hard to say woman?" Shikamaru furrowed his brow. "One would think that you've never- oh."

"Apologizing isn't easy for me." She grunted, taking a large gulp of her dark wine. "But today has been a day of firsts. Diving off of buildings, a date, and now this."

"You still haven't apologized."

"Yeah well don't push your luck." She smiled and poured herself a second glass. "Why did you ask me on a date anyways?"

Shikamaru fumbled around in his mind trying to find an appropriate answer that wouldn't implicate his long-term feelings for her. "We are practically dating anyways; we share an apartment, go out for dinner together and we enjoy our time together."

"So its convenient?" Temari's voice was solemn, "At least it wasn't a pity date."

"Nothing about you is convenient, you're extremely-"

"If you say troublesome I will stab your tongue with my fork." She cut him off and evil glint present in her eyes.

"So violent."

"So repetitive."

Shikamaru sighed and rested his face on his left palm, so he could continue eating with his right. He thoroughly enjoyed their back and forth banter; primarily because he loved to see her flustered. The tinge of pink on her cheeks and the tips of her ears, and the wonderful ferocity that lit up her aquamarine irises. The idea of purposefully poking a bear was ludicrous, but that was what he was doing. The younger version of himself would doubt his sanity, he was sure of that.

"We've been friends for a long time now," Temari started and Shikamaru could already feel the chills run along his spine. She might as well started off with 'we need to talk'. "and if you didn't already know this you're my best friend; congratulations. As hard as it is to admit, I hold a lot of stock in you. So I'm going to rephrase my earlier question, what are you expecting from this date?"

Shikamaru bit his tongue from rambling off his initial thought; marriage, lots of sex and babies might come off too strong. But he still couldn't just say it, 'I like you Temari, in fact, I love you'. "I don't know."

He expected her to yell at him, to throw things, to mock him but definitely not laughter. She chuckled and shook her head in disbelief, "Smartest man I know and you're a complete idiot."

"Would you object to a trial run? Just to see how we work together romantically?" He asked.

"We can keep it to ourselves, so our friends and families don't burst from excitement and if it doesn't work out no one gets hurt." Temari smiled warily, "We can try to go back to just being us. This is us peeking at the end of the book to see if we can accomplish the happy ending, metaphorically speaking."

"Sound alright to you?"

"Works for me." She smiled, eating the last bit of food on her plate. "I'll start this off by saying that dinner wasn't half bad."

"I'll start it off by saying you look even better with your hair down." Shikamaru smirked slyly as he watched her face darken with his compliment.

"Just because we are fake dating doesn't mean you get to be so forward." She huffed, downing the last of her wine.

"We're not fake dating," Shikamaru pondered the term for what they actually were, "its more like we are secret lovers."

"Like all of your imaginary girlfriends, Mr. V card." Temari remarked haughtily, feeling proud of her comeback.

"I'm not a virgin." Shikamaru groaned, "I'm a gentleman, I don't kiss and tell. Plus I haven't heard you talking about any of your 'conquests'."

Temari looked at the refrigerator allowing herself to be absorbed by the coiling shadows that imitated the whipping flame of the candle. "You don't ask, so I don't tell. How many women have you dated?"

"Two." Shikamaru answered honestly. Both only lasted a couple of weeks; Shikamaru was lacking in the public display of affection and romance areas.

"How many have you fucked?" Temari leaned it grinning, he shifted at the uncomfortable situation.

"Like most during the war, I took to the brothels. There were many." He felt her eyes shaming him and for once he did feel shameful for it. "What about you?"

"Six men. Four during my culling, one for a mission, and one during the war." Temari smirked, "So it looks like you're the bigger whore."

She chuckled at her own joke and Shikamaru let it pass, knowing it was just a defense mechanism. She'd only given herself to one man and that was in the face of death. Many shinobi had taken up lovers or made visits to the whore houses during the war. The fear of imminent death cause some men to do unspeakable things in the camps too. So he wasn't even sure if Temari had given herself to the last man either, though he was sure that no man could challenge her at her current level. If given the opportunity, he was going to show her how if felt to make love. He'd be the first to make her feel like a woman and the thought sent blood rushing to his groin.

"Just don't tell my mother." He scratched the base of his head, "I can only imagine the damage she'd inflict."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't tell her you were spreading your high demand clan sperm around." Temari went to pour herself a third glass of wine but stopped when he gave her a dissatisfied glance. "So do I know any of those girls?"

"No, why?"

"I don't want any drama. Something bad always happens when I come to Konoha: Suna attacks you, my brother almost dies and the other is kidnapped, stapled my finger. I just don't want to have to cream some little girl because she has a hard on for you."

"I don't think stapling your finger matches up with the previous two statements." They laughed together, "The only 'drama' you'll have is if this gets out, everyone will start harassing us about keeping this a secret."

"True." She grabbed their plates and began to wash them. Shikamaru stared at her like she had become an alien or angel; maybe a combination of the two. "What? I can clean! I'm not domestically challenged!"

"It's just strange."

"You're strange!" She shot back.

"Nice one." He joked, chuckling to himself. "You've dished out a fine repertoire of comebacks lately, very impressed."

Temari slugged him in his bicep with her good arm, "Ass."

"See what I mean- oh shit!" Shikamaru ducked as a plate went hurdling at his head and shattered against the wall. "What the hell woman?"

"I'm remembering why I find you so annoying!" She yelled, threatening him with another dish.

There it was again; the color on on her cheeks, malicious intent gleaming in her narrowed but beautiful colored eyes, and the deep carved scowl on her full lips. The goosebumps crept up his arm and the hairs on his neck stood up. Something had to be wrong with him if he found her this attractive when she was preparing to maul him.

"Mom has a secret stash of cookies, want some?"

"My anger will not be settled so easily, Nara!" Temari stomped her foot, and the line 'if looks could kill' came into play. "But yes I would!"

Shikamaru got up and dug through the pantry; removing a three gallon container of flour and four different bottles of cooking oil before handing her three bags of cookies. "I call dibs on the Oreos"

"That's fine, I found peanut butter cookies." Temari's anger had been forgotten while she gazed lovingly at the circular sugar treat.

Shikamaru made himself a glass of milk and they moved from the kitchen into the living room. Shikamaru preferred the couch to the wooden chairs any day. They sat silently; the sound of soft moans and crunching were the only sounds heard.

"You eat your Oreos weirdly." Temari remarked.

Shikamaru opened the Oreo, ate the side that didn't have the cream, dunked the side that did in milk and then ate that piece. "That's how we use to eat them."

Shikamaru could see that she understood and didn't pursue the topic further. He didn't speak about his father much anymore just as he didn't speak of Asuma. The loss of the two men he held closest was devastating and Shikamaru found out that if you act like nothing is wrong people stop treating you like there is. He had enough of pity looks and I'm sorrys to last him a life time. When Temari found out about Asuma she came to Konoha and fought Shikamaru; allowing him to release his frustration. When she heard of Shikaku they were on the battlefield; she gave Shikamaru a cold glare and told him not to disappoint his father. She was a pain but she knew what he needed: kick in the ass, dusted off his shoulders and sent him on his way.

"I haven't paid my respects to him yet." Temari dunked her cookie in his milk before Shikamaru could complain. "Is he on the grounds?"

Shikamaru yawned, feeling suddenly tired. "Back pasture."

"Need to tell him how much of a terd you've been." She joked, devouring a whole cookie in a single bite.

"You're a monster." Shikamaru rested his head on the couch.

Temari elbowed him in the side, "You're the one who wants to date me."

He nodded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You should have heard yourself when I brought you home. You were spouting off all sorts of things."

Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in horror.

"Shikamaru's so warm. He's so handsome." He smiled while resting his eyes. "It was cute."

"I am not cute, nor do I partake in actions associated with being cute." Temari huffed.

His full and content stomach and the warmth of the couch were luring him to sleep. He needed to stay awake but he felt the heaviness of sleep overcome him. Temari laid a blanket over him and whispered goodnight in his ear before he fell asleep.

"See even that was cute."

* * *

**A/N: I had an bad allergic reaction last night, I'm all doped up so I had to call out of work today; which mean tah dah! You all get another chapter today, yay! Hopefully the last half makes sense. I didn't want to jump into the relationship too quickly, so we'll see where this goes. Hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Day Three: Part 1

_Day Three_

Shikamaru had fallen asleep hours ago and Temari had consumed herself into menial tasks to keep herself awake. She had done all the dishes by hand, rearranged Shikamaru's books by alphabetical order and then again by wear on the bindings, snooped through his medicine cabinet, and had redressed her wounds. She couldn't lift her arm over her head, the action had brought her to her knees in pain. Her entire left side was black and blue, although her hip and shoulder were the worst off; the skin was stripped from the intense road rash. It looked brutal and it made her grin with pride.

She found herself wandering outside barefoot; enjoying the numbness that seeped in her feet. The rain had stopped about an hour ago and she had mulled over the thought of going to her apartment to check on her team; she was sure they were fine and would just see her intrusion as just a waste. She could envision the genin burying themselves into their sleeping bags refusing to acknowledge the morning. Hell, she was certain the older men would as well.

"I'm so bored." Temari whined to the morning sun.

As if to answer her, the long thinning shadows reached out from the treeline which lead her gaze to the Nara cemetery. Burying the dead was a foreign idea to the people of Suna, the last thing they needed was a dead loved one being flung at them during a sand storm.

One would never think that those buried here were apart of the elite clans in Konoha. All the head stones looked alike, not a one discernible from the next, there were some just marked with a placard. Shikaku's was no different. A slab of stone that said his name and when he lived. The thought made her quiver in anger. He would only be remembered as a name on a piece of rock. The thousands that he saved with his brilliant mind won't bat an eyelash at his death; that he left a family behind to save everyone. While Yoshino and Shikamaru were left to deal with that emptiness that his death brought, the void that was reserved for just him.

When she had first become the liaison between Suna and Konoha was her first run in with the Nara family; spare for the brief encounter with Shikaku at the hospital during the Sasuke retrieval mission. Her first trip to Konoha was during the Autumn Equinox Festival and Shikamaru was supposed to procure her lodgings during her stay, with that said, he didn't. He dragged her home to stay with his parents for the week. She'd be lying if she didn't want to run the first night there; she'd also be lying if she said she wanted to leave by the last day.

Never having a mother of her own, Yoshino was everything she was ever looking in a maternal figure. Strong, passionate, brutal and kind. Not to mention she was an undeniable master in the kitchen; which her black-hole of a stomach was very thankful for. Shikaku was the opposite of her father and at first she deemed him as a lesser man. It took many trips and intense conversations for Temari to realize that he was the perfect man; soft, submissive and carefree until he needed to be tough and serious. Like a flick of a switch he could switch back and forth.

The couple had become her parents, referring to them as mom and dad when in thought. The night before the purchase on her apartment went through she ate dinner with them. They praised her for her responsibility and scolded her for purchasing such an expensive place.

_'You know you can always stay with us, Temari.' Shikaku had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rested his chin on top of her head. 'We love you, as if you were our own flesh and blood. Hell if we could I think we'd trade Shikamaru for you.'_

Temari knelt before his grave, tracing his name delicately with her forefinger. She looked around making sure no one was around. "I've never spoken to a non-entity before; if I'm being honest, I feel like an idiot. I just had a few things I needed to say..."

_"Shikamaru finds you extremely frustrating." The Nara elder chuckled as she rolled her eyes with a smile. "I think you're good for him. Just promise me you'll keep pushing him to be the man he needs to be."_

_"He has you, Nara-san. You're the only hope for that idiot."_

"Shikaku did you know that, that was the first time I ever remember being told that I was loved. Still is." She didn't restrain the small tears that escaped from her weary eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much for accepting me into your family and allowing me to know what it feels like; to feel normal. I promise, even if this doesn't work out between Shikamaru and I. I won't let him get away with anything."

"I should have said it then, but for what it's worth, I-I you know..." She growled and slammed her fist down on her right thigh, sure to leave a bruise. "Why can't I say it?"

The wind whipped at her side, lifting her hair with it's might almost as if someone was twisting the ends. It was inviting and cool against the warmth of the rising sun. It brought a smile that cut through the trail of tears and a chuckle bubbled up from her stomach.

"I'll take that as a sign." Temari stood, brushing the soil and grass off her sweat pants. She bowed politely and ran her hand over the tombstone. "Bye, Dad."

Temari made her way back to the house when she felt an incoming chakra signal; an anbu landed feet away from her.

The man had a blue boar mask and a deep voice, "The Hokage requests your presence in her office, she has already gathered the rest of your team."

With that the man disappeared and Temari found herself sprinting towards the Nara home. There would only be one reason why Tsunade would call her entire team in and that would be because they got word from Suna. Suna would only summon them home for a death of a loved one or worse, war. She slammed the door behind her, running up the stairs and packed their belongings. She changed into her normal shinobi attire, struggling to fasten her tessen to her lower back. Temari grabbed Mei's bag and sealed her own in a scroll. She made her way down stairs to see Shikamaru blocking her exit.

"Shikamaru, I have to go see the Hokage." She tried to push him out of the way with her good arm but he didn't budge. "Shikamaru!"

"You're not fit to travel back to Suna." He stated, his pitch black irises bore into her. "Let alone to head into battle."

"That's not your call to make." Temari barked, returning a level glare. She gestured to the two of them, "Just because this is going on, that doesn't mean you get a say so in what I do."

"I'm not saying this because we're involved," Shikamaru grabbed the sides of her arms, "I'm saying this as your friend, you're not fit for combat in this condition."

"I have to go the meeting, we don't even know if I'm leaving or not." She forced herself out of his grip, her left arm stinging in the residual pain.

"We both know better than that." Shikamaru slipped on his boots. "I'm going too."

"Whatever floats your boat." Temari rolled her eyes and took off without him.

He followed close behind her even when she picked up her pace. It didn't take long before her knuckles were colliding against the Hokage's office doors. Temari could hear the soft voices stop their conversation and hesitated before answering her.

"Come in."

Temari entered without hesitation but was confused upon entering. Her team was nowhere to be seen and Tsunade had three different message carriers in the room with her. She bowed, trying to reel in the questions posing on her mind. "Hokage-sama."

"Temari, I have a letter from the Kazekage requesting your team to return to Suna." Tsunade paused to take a sip of her 'tea'. "A representative from Iwa will be here in two days and the Kazekage wishes for you to prepare for a peace treaty."

"May I read the letter?" Temari approached her desk quickly and took the paper when it was offered.

_Lady Hokage,_

_As you well know, relations between Iwa and Suna have quickly dissipated in the past months. I have requested that the two villages meet before our circumstances are no longer repairable. Iwa has agreed but demands that we meet in Konoha. Since you are neutral in this, I humbly ask your permission to continue our peace talks. I have a team on their way to help with repairs on the city being led by Temari. She has not been informed because I know if she knows of this she will not agree to leave. If you do not wish for this to be held in Konoha, put my shinobi to work for the following week._

_Kazekage Gaara_

"That little bastard." Temari murmured to herself. "Those son-of-a-bitches better not attack during this 'peace talk'."

"Its five in the morning Temari," Tsunade yawned a little too loudly, "swearing is appropriate for this time; there is no need to whisper."

"I was just saying that I was fearful of an attack while I am away." Temari looked back down at the note. Gaara had such excellent penmanship that it put her own to shame. When he first became Kazekage, he practiced for weeks to make his writing just legible. She wrote all of his letters for six months, till he was satisfied with his handwriting. She admired him for it though, accepting nothing but the best out of himself.

"It will most likely occur, that's why I sent your team home. Suna can use all the shinobi they can get their paws on." The busty blonde stood and came to the other blonde's side. "You look like hell dear."

"I was hoping to go back to my village." Temari sighed.

"Even if I did say no," The elder blonde took note of Temari's bruises and the sling on her arm. "you're in no shape to be going anywhere."

"That's why I'm here." Shikamaru stated, while leaning against the door frame.

"Are you also here to tell me that the sky is blue? Or did you think that I wasn't capable of discerning this on my own?" The Hokage snapped, rubbing her temples; clearly not in any mood for this. "Temari you'll have access to our records library to see if you can dig up any treaty contracts that you can use in your favor. You can take Shikamaru too, it's not like he's helping the renovations on the village much."

Temari bowed again, "Thank you Hokage-sama."

She grabbed Shikamaru by the collar of his flak jacket dragging him out of the room with her. Temari plopped down on the bench outside, resting the back of her head on the wall. "Well fuck."

"You can say that again." Shikamaru sat next to her, his arm pressed against hers.

"Well fuck." She smirked.

"Ha, ha. Well aren't you the clever one." He huffed, copying her current position.

"Don't get pissy with me because you got yelled at." Temari chuckled, picturing Shikamaru's dumbstruck face when Tsunade verbally exploded on him. "I tried to leave you behind."

"Now I wish you had tried harder."

"Can I go to bed yet?" Temari asked nearly whimpering. Her eyes had shut on their own accord, the weight from the sleepless nights collecting on her eyelids.

"We can have Ino or Sakura check you out real quick." He stood up, offering his hand to her. "The sooner we go, the sooner I can go back to bed."

"If I don't get the okay," She allowed him to lift her up in one easy pull, "I'm going to work you like a dog. You're going to suffer with me."

Shikamaru's face fell, his favorite saying clung to his tongue; knowing, in her current mood, she might cut it out of his mouth. "Well lets go then."

They walked in silence, the only sound that was present in the morning was the chirping of birds and the crunch of the gravel beneath their feet. The hospital was practically empty and the nurse at the counter eagerly waved them in. The older brunette woman set them up in a private examination room, explaining Sakura would see them shortly. They waited about five minutes, which in the hospital felt more like thirty.

"Hi Temari... and Shikamaru." Sakura eyed the man warily. "Do you want me to-"

Temari shook her head with a smile, "He's fine."

"Alright." The pink-haired woman motioned for Temari to stand. "I'll need to take a look at your side so if you wouldn't mind."

The wind-user began to strip, finding that taking off her clothes was much harder than it was putting them on. "Shikamaru my fan."

She felt his fingers work quickly at her back, unbuckling it from her tessen and went to sit back down with the monstrous piece of metal. Sakura helped lift her breast guard and tee-shirt over her head. Temari sat on the examination table, the sanitary paper crinkling loudly under her shifting rear. The medic shinobi cut off her bandages from her chest and Temari covered her breasts with her free arm.

She was rethinking sending Shikamaru from the room. Temari could feel his hot gaze all over her form, it sent goosebumps racing up her arms and thighs.

Sakura took her pen light to examine Temari's pupils, "So what happened?"

"Fell off a roof during yesterday's storm."

"No." Shikamaru shuffled in his chair, "She saved her genin."

"Well it looks like you were well treated." Sakura said with a smile, "Your concussion is in its final stages, so go get some rest. Take a trip to the hot springs, it will fix you right up."

Temari looked back at Shikamaru with a small smile; she was well treated. Sakura wrapped her back up and helped her dress. "Thank you Sakura."

"My pleasure." She beamed.

"I get to sleep in my bed." Temari grinned with delight as they stepped back out into the streets.

"No." Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets. "They slept in your apartment remember."

If Temari did go back to her apartment she was sure that the mess would keep her awake, not to mention that someone other than her slept in her sheets. She would have to wash them and flip her mattress. "Fine I'll take your bed."

"Why not the spare bedroom?"

"Your bed is comfortable." She leaned into him, letting him use more energy to walk her. "I'm so tired."

"I see where this is going." In one quick scoop and a grunt, Shikamaru was carrying the blonde back home.

Temari didn't argue and instead let her head rest on his chest. He smelt good, like pine, but she hadn't seen any cologne in his medicine cabinet earlier. She pondered how he could smell so wonderful without any artificial smells; maybe with all his time near the forest his skin had just absorbed the aroma. Shikamaru climbed the stairs mumbling under his breath. He gently sat her down on the bed and helped remove her clothes for the second time; leaving her in her shirt and shorts.

"Get some sleep." He whispered, removing her forehead protector. Temari grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the bed. He took the invitation; ridding himself of his shoes, pants and flak jacket.

Shikamaru laid next to her without their bodies touching, both of their breaths were labored with the impure thoughts coursing through their minds. "Shikamaru, I'm cold."

She sighed in relief as his arm wrapped around her and pulled back against his chest. Temari snickered at the sudden poke against her ass and Shikamaru leaned his hips away, "Troublesome."

"Its alright." Temari said huskily, "Sex a part of a romantic relationship, right?"

He sucked in a sharp breath and slowly leaned his hips back into her rear. His voice was dark with lust, "Yes."

She turned her head and leaned towards his lips; this was it, the point of no return.

"Shikamaru! Get out of bed and feed the deer!" Yoshino stomped up the stairs and then slammed her fist on the door.

"I'm sleeping with Temari!" He screamed back and it took Temari by surprise. She'd never seen him yell before, but she could understand the frustration of being cock-blocked by one's mother.

"That won't work on me a second time!" His mother hissed.

"A second time?" Temari asked, erupting into unrestrained laughter.

"Is that?" Yoshino paused, "Temari really is in there!"

"Thanks mom."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone, they truly inspire me to continue writing. The plot begins to thicken and I tease you. :D**


	5. Day Three: Part 2

_Day Three Continued_

"Do you planning on sleeping the entire day?" He asked, leaning on his bedroom door. "Its already four in the afternoon."

"I know why you're so lazy now. I don't want to ever leave this bed." Temari mumbled into the pillow, throwing the covers above her head. He waited patiently for her to abandon her childish wants; knowing full well that she wasn't the type of person to lay in bed while awake. Within two minutes she popped out of bed, adjusting her top that had spun while she slept and glared at him. "Well since Tsunade made you my bitch for the next two days, I'm going to make good use of you."

Shikamaru sighed, eying her with disdain. "I'm your bitch? Really?"

"Would you prefer man-slave?" She grabbed her bags with her free hand and was surprised when Shikamaru took them from her and grabbed her tessen.

"I don't like either of my options."

Temari smiled wickedly, "How 'bout Pookey-bear?"

"I'll accept it." He chuckled, "Just because you'll have to say it."

"Eh, I'm fine with man-slave." She walked past him and down the stairs, when she got to the bottom of the stairwell she hesitantly looked into the kitchen; scanning for his mother.

"Shes not here." Shikamaru opened the door for her.

"Well I'm going to go dig up some papers. I'll meet you at our place."

Temari took off ahead of him, leaving him with his hands full and brain muddled with thought. This morning had been troublesome to say the least. It took him two hours just to calm his mother's excitement and then another to explain the circumstances. He told his mother about Temari's accident and that he was sleeping in the bed with her just as a precaution. It hurt, more than he would like to admit, the way his mother's face fell. It had been a while since he had seen her that excited; happy enough to light up the room. He wanted to tell her that he and Temari were getting married and hard at work to produce twenty grandchildren.

But of course, he left out the story of their date and that in fact they were about to have sex. The last tid bit had been bogging down his mind the entire day. They almost had sex. He hadn't even held Temari's hand nor held her while she wasn't injured. His feelings for her were progressing things far too quickly for his liking and yet not quickly enough. It was extremely frustrating and he didn't want to tell Temari his thoughts because she would probably mock him for being 'sensitive' or for 'acting like a girl'.

When he made it to the apartment, he was surprised at how well the Suna nin had left it. The place had been obviously tidied up and the beds were stripped of their linens and piled in front of the washer and dryer. For some reason he expected mounds of sand to be left in the beds and on the couches, something straight out of a cartoon. Shikamaru finished what they had started and threw the sheets in the wash.

He laid on the couch with the intention of taking a nap before Temari returned; since he'd been up since six.

"Hey man-slave!" She screamed outside the door, kicking it instead of knocking. "Open the door!"

"You have a sex slave?" A male voice questioned, "I guess I need to move to Suna."

Temari laughed, kicking the door again. Shikamaru lingered on the other side of the door, "What's my name?"

"Shikamaru come on, just open the door!" Temari huffed, "I'm carrying two boxes with one arm!"

"If I remember correctly it starts with a 'P'." He smirked to himself, picturing her face beat red with anger.

"_Prick_ let me in!"

"Not even close." Shikamaru fiddled with the handle, "Just say it Temari."

"Pookey-bear! There you happy?" Shikamaru unlocked and opened the door; revealing a, just as expected, fuming blonde. Temari blew past him and threw he boxes of paperwork on the living room floor.

Kiba cautiously stepped inside, straining to keep his laughter contained. "Hey Pookey-bear, I thought you weren't dating Temari?"

"I'm not." Shikamaru grabbed a few boxes from Kiba's arms and helped set them with the others. "That's just how good I am."

"Thank you Kiba for your assistance." Temari locked her eyes on Shikamaru's form with deadly intent, "But if you don't wish to see the death of your friend or get caught in the crossfire, I insist you remove yourself."

"See ya." The brunette waved as he hastily made his exit.

"How dare you humiliate me like that!" She stabbed his chest with her index finger, "Do you have any idea the crap- what are you doing?"

Shikamaru had grabbed her hand and was holding it intently in his own, "An experiment."

"Well it feels weird." Temari tried to shift her hands from his which allowed Shikamaru to entwine his fingers with hers. "Shikamaru..."

"Your hands are calloused," He observed. She growled preparing for a verbal onslaught, "but they're soft."

She remained silent letting him test out the different ways to hold her palm. He was amazed that his innocent action had stopped her tirade with a matter of seconds; she had been easily deterred from her anger towards him lately, possibly from their current arrangement he mused.

Temari stole her hand back, holding it close to her chest and avoiding his gaze. "Kiba is going to know something is awry with us."

"He's an idiot." Shikamaru took a moment to think and agreed with his train of thought, "Plus I wouldn't mind if we dated publicly."

"We aren't dating, Shikamaru." Temari made her way into the living room and started shifting through a box. "We are doing a test run; to see if we can handle having a romantic relationship."

"By doing what?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, plopping down on the couch. "By dating secretly."

"One date is hardly dating." She defended herself. "You can't lay claim on me for a simple date and misguided morals."

"So you're back tracking on this morning too."

"I can't work with you here!" Temari huffed, her voice faltering ever slightly. "The fate of my village is in my hands and you want to poke and prod at the simplicity of a secret kinda sorta relationship!"

"Sounds real simple."

Something was wrong with her. Temari was the type of person that would defend her actions till the bitter end, only letting in if she was truly in the wrong. Perhaps the the stress of the treaty meeting and their relationship was getting to her. Shikamaru had a limited knowledge of the inner workings of her emotions; there were a very small number of times she had let him past her steely exterior. Her blunt, vicious and cool demeanor was a facade that she, over time, had integrated with; not being able to discern herself from it. He knew the inside of her somewhere was the woman who was consumed and controlled by fear and despite her attempts she could never be able to sever herself from it.

Shikamaru could see it in her eyes, she was retreating. "I'm gonna take a nap, mom kept me up since this morning."

Her eyes softened to the minimalist degree, acknowledging his surrender. "We'll talk later."

The lazy shinobi walked to his room and then realized he hadn't put the sheets in the dryer. He sighed but decided that a bed with no sheets was better than dirty ones. He laid down and tried to fall asleep before his brain caught up on current events; it wasn't the most keen on emotional endeavors.

_When he opened his eyes he was sitting on top of a massive mound of bananas. The area around him white, a gigantic white room. Other than the hill of bright yellow bananas their was a looming hourglass. Shikamaru left his seat and walked over to the monstrous hourglass. On closer inspection he realized that it didn't contain sand but blood instead. He raised his hand to touch the clear glass and it shattered against his fingertips. The blood poured over him sending hurdling backwards._

Shikamaru sat up in the bed, he dragged his hand down his face; his stray hairs sticking to his sweaty forehead. "What the hell?"

The moon light shone through his window making him realize he was asleep much longer than he had intended. He made his way to the bathroom, noticing the lights in the living room and kitchen were on. Shikamaru rinsed his face and retied his ponytail before he went to see the she-devil.

Temari sat in the middle of the living room floor with mountains of paperwork around her, and several hundred papers taped against the three walls of the room. She was sporting a black tank-top, her nin shorts, and black thin-framed pair of glasses.

"I didn't know you wore glasses." He moved a box of papers so he could sit down on the couch. She looked up at him and his heart lept into his throat; she looked really hot. Temari was always extremely attractive but the glasses provided a whole new identity that would fuel his sexual fantasies.

"I had an accident during a mission." Temari explained carefully, "I should be wearing them at all times but I only use them when I need to read for long lengths of time."

"They look good on you." Shikamaru offered, stretching out his limbs like a cat after a nap.

"I ordered take out." She got up to post another paper against the wall, writing a sticky-note on top of it. "It got here about ten minutes ago."

"Have you taken a break?" He eyed her, knowing that this was Temari; the only breaks she took were to go to the bathroom, make a pot of coffee and answer the door for the delivery guy.

"I could use some food." As if on cue her stomach growled painfully loud, she winced and rubbed her aching belly.

Temari grabbed a plate and began to dish out the food, when Shikamaru's pinky interlocked with hers. One of her fatal flaws was the pinky promise, she did it as a child to reassure Kankuro and Gaara but it stayed with her. She let it slip to him one night while they were out drinking but told him that it only applied to those she held dear. That and if he ever tried it she would break the damn thing off and shove it down his throat.

Shikamaru paused, gathering the internal strength to continue on. She was going to know how he felt, even if she was going to call it quits. "You're a pain in the ass, beautiful and scary; for some genetic reason I'm attracted to that. I would like to pursue a relationship with you but with saying that I understand that you're current duties are more significant."

"I just don't want you to wait," Temari cleared her throat, making no attempt to remove her hand from his. "just for me to die. Which if we go to war, I will."

The Suna forces were strong but Iwa was stronger and larger. Temari would be of the front lines till every bone in her body was broken and she literally couldn't move. Still she would find away to assault her opponent. They would loose without Konoha's help, but they would never ask for it. Suna wouldn't endanger their allies, especially when their ally was still recovering.

"If they offer an arranged marriage, I'll take it. But the ass-wipe will kill me within the next three years." He watched the cogs working in her brain and he understood. "They won't accept my treaty, unless I give up something that Suna can't afford or I find some technicality. It seems like I doing all this fucking work for nothing and I'm going to loose everything."

"I'm here. I want to be with you, and you want to be with me?" He asked, squeezing her much smaller finger with his own. Temari nodded hesitantly. "Then lets eat and not over analyze things for once. Lets enjoy the time we have together. Relationships are never logical nor are they bound by reason; sometimes that applies to life as well."

Temari smiled, "Well we'll be illogical then."

They dished up their plates and went to the living room to eat. Shikamaru's mind was going mad with thought and strategy; it wanted nothing more than to plan out ways that he could assist Temari with her treaties and ways to get her out of any and all possible outcomes. He tried to make it stop even by trying to reason with himself that if he got to deeply involved that it might drag Konoha into the mix. He needed to be neutral, this was how he would help Temari. She didn't need a cheering team nor someone to destroy all hope, just someone to guide in the right direction for both sides.

"Alright, stop acting like a girl and get back to work man-slave." Temari smirked wickedly, "I need the oldest records you can find on Iwa regardless of what it pertains to. You might have to go back to the Records Library."

He sighed, "Yes ma'am.

"Only one more day." Temari whispered under her breath.

He thought at the time that she meant one more day to work on the treaty and to fight for her village, but he would find out that she meant only one more day with him.

* * *

**Author's note: I hope this clears some things up about their relationship. Shikamaru and Temari are trying to be together but don't know how to be, because things are complicated. Sorry if they are a bit out of character, they are dealing with things that are out of their characters; I have no reference material. **

**If you're up to the challenge to dissect Shikamaru's dream; you can go to dreambible .com (strictly dream analysis, I swear) **_Abscess/bananas, white room, blood/break/hourglass. _


	6. Day Four

_Day Four_

After four hours of sleep Temari was at it again; sorting through helpful, useless and mind numbing paperwork. She had written several hundred pages worth of mock treaty documents, trying to discern the limits and sacrifices Suna was willing to part with for the sake of their freedom. So much had changed in Suna since Gaara took office: new rights were being protected by his administration, taxes had been raised but were being put into the country and not in any pockets, and the stolid and unshakable people of Suna began to live life as normal people without the fear of economic pressures or death. Even the war had brought the people together, the new unity that bonded their village had kept morale high and inspired the shinobi on the front lines. Until Iwa decided to rear its traitorous head in their direction.

When the first skirmish occurred, Temari and Gaara were both taken back by the act. Onoki, the Kage of Iwa, although his first impression of Gaara was poor and misguided, the old man had grown to respect her brother. Temari had been sent to Iwa to discuss the attack with Onoki only to find that he was in critical condition after a failed assassination attempt, leaving the Earth Daiymo as the enacting Tsuchikage. That was when she first encountered Ichiru, the Daiymo's only child. That's when his obsessive fascination with her began.

It started with anonymous love letters, which Temari discarded without much thought; she already loved one man and those complicated feelings were enough to distract her from her ordinary life. It progressed when Gaara received a letter asking him for permission for Temari's hand in marriage, the natural answer was fuck no which Gaara translated it in more polite wording. Then she received a flash bomb letter. Normally Temari would have more careful and alert while opening her mail however she had been caught up in a heated argument with Kankuro. Thankfully the medic nins had been able to save her eyesight but it was never a hundred percent there after. The investigation into the letter revealed a letter that was partnered with the bomb and the message still sends a chill up her spine.

_I need to rid the world of your bewitching eyes. They show all who gaze upon them the endless love I have for you, you show them all my weakness without any regard to my person. You catch the hearts of all who gaze upon the beauty of your scrutinizing glares, they strip men down to the bare emotions that would be fitting for a mouse. I will regain my strength at the loss of your grace._

Within the following month there were another six attacks on Suna shinobi, coupled with assassination attempts on all three of the sand siblings. Kankuro had his team slaughtered and he had barely made it home after an ambush. Gaara had easily taken care of the assassin that went after him, but his bodyguards hadn't been as lucky. Temari had gotten a taste of revenge when Ichiru had attacked her on one of her solo missions. She sent him home with a broken jaw, a bruised ego and four dead companions.

This was the point where Gaara and the council spoke of declaring war and when she was sent to Konoha for 'restoration purposes'. She, more than anyone, wanted this conflict to be resolved but the Earth Daiymo had made it clear that a truce would not be met without the crippling of Suna. This made her job a bit more complicated. Luckily she had mulled over different avenues for upcoming treaties between the two villages since the initial incident, so she just had to compile everything together and make it sound convincing enough.

"The typewriter is too loud." Shikamaru stumbled out from his bedroom, wearing a gray shirt and blue plaid boxers. She exiled him from the living room early in the afternoon; he had been quite grouchy from his lack of sleep. "You should take a break."

Temari bent backwards, cracking the lumps of pain from her hunched over spine. The large antique clock that hung above the mantel and it read six thirty. "I could go for some dinner that doesn't come from a container."

Shikamaru wiped the sleep from the corner of his eyes and chuckled, "Go get dressed, I'll buy. You can consider this date number two."

"Seriously?" Temari quirked her thin brow at him, "We do this all the time though."

"I guess we've been dating in secret a lot longer than we originally thought." He mused a loud, shuffling toward the bathroom with his head hung low. "Dibs on the first shower."

"And we fight like a married couple." She huffed, lifting herself from the ground. Her bones sounded off with pops and whining cracks, "Yeah well don't jack off, I'm too hungry to wait."

Shikamaru flushed and grumbled to himself while he kicked the door shut behind him. Temari smiled to herself and went into her room to dress. She was going to dress in her usual garb but paused to consider an ominous question: what does one wear on a date? The weather outside posed for a lovely day; warm with possibly a nice breeze. Shikamaru would most likely wear his normal apparel. So why did she feel the urge to tear her closet apart in search for the one article of clothing that meet the occasion?

"Don't be ridiculous." She scolded herself. "He wouldn't notice if you wore a burlap sack."

She reasoned within herself that she was here in Konoha on ambassadorial work, so she should dress in her normal attire. A small bottle on her dresser caught her eye and a moment of weakness washed over her.

"A hint of perfume never hurt anyone." Temari scoffed and held the tiny unused bottle. She managed her unruly hair into its usual style and forced herself to coat her eyelashes with mascara. She eyed the bruises peeked out from behind her bangs and the blatant ones on her shoulder and leg. She could easily use a genjutsu to mask it and it would be so weak that no one would notice but she didn't want to risk the off chance if someone did. Temari expertly hid the blotches of skin with some cover-up and removed her sling.

"Woman, lets go." Shikamaru called to her, rasping his knuckles lethargically against her door.

When she met him in the living room she quickly ushered him out of the apartment, "Come on lazy ass, lets go. You have some romancing to do and I have some eating to do."

He shook his head at her but fell in to place at her side as they walked the empty residential streets. Temari found that for once she had nothing to say nor complain about to Shikamaru; every idea she came up with sounded incredibly droll and she mentally discarded it. She couldn't focus. Spare for her awareness to how close he was beside her and the tingling sensation that spread wildly through her body when their hands brushed against each other. Temari attempted to summon enough bravery to reach out and grab his palm but as she did Shikamaru caught her gaze; she slapped her hands against her sides and avoided looking in his direction.

Temari was fuming inside. She was the best kunoichi Suna had to offer, one of the best ninja of the current times, hell most of her nicknames had terms like: devil, bitch, witch. She was brave, confidant, and loyal to a fault; but she couldn't take the hand of Shikamaru Nara? She heard him growl next to her and before she knew it his moist palm was wrapping around hers.

"What if someone sees?" She asked, feeling exposed as they headed on the main road; where everyone was bustling with the evening rush.

Shikamaru grunted in response and continued down the street with her hand in his. Temari felt a foreign emotion sparking within her abdomen. The only way she could describe it was a mixture of the pride of hitting your first bulls-eye and the eager shyness of a first kiss.

"What happened with the secrecy aspect?" She strained her focus straight ahead, any passer-byers were completely and purposefully ignored. If she noticed them staring at them she would have lost her composure; she probably would have jumped right out of her skin and run.

"I just did what you were too afraid to do." His handsome smirk made her blood boil.

"Are you calling me a coward?" Temari wrenched her hand from his, missing the sensation as soon as it ended. She wasn't really mad, her false anger was mostly as show. She was glad that he summoned the courage to do what she couldn't; she just didn't want him to know or recognize the fact. "If I wanted to hold your hand I would have done it."

"Uh huh."

"You know how I feel about that." She grunted, "Don't respond to me with noises."

"Ah."

Temari was caught in his smart-ass smile and chuckled at the thought of their childish squabbling. "You're truly an idiot."

"Lazy too." Shikamaru offered his hand and she took it firmly.

This might be the last day she would be able to spend with him; considering if the meeting goes with it's current directory. She was going to make the most of this day. She would be an ordinary woman and he would be her lazy and frustrating man; they would be an average couple. Temari leaned into his side and squeezed his hand.

"Shikamaru, do you have a nickname?"

He shrugged, "If my parents wanted me to be called by a different name they would have named me different."

"That's a reasonable answer, but 'Shikamaru' is such a mouthful." Temari smiled, "It doesn't roll off the tongue."

"Are you trying to tease me? That was cruel wording." He whined, shifting uncomfortably in his skin. "Troublesome woman, sinking to a new low."

"So no nickname?"

"No nickname."

Temari sighed, forcing a pout on her bottom lip. Shikamaru looked at her like he was going to have a heart attack from how out of character and cute she was. She knew how ruffle his feathers and it made her stomach flutter with excitement to see him so out of his element; to be caught off guard. For a man who was always several steps ahead of her she learned quickly how to be unpredictable and to throw him off his game.

They had walked the rest of the way in silence, spare for the moments that Temari couldn't refrain from jesting him about a reoccurring blush. Once at the restaurant they were seated towards the back against the window; the traditional booth where the InoShikaChou team normal ate. The first time she had eaten at the Korean Barbecue place was with the team. She had challenged Chouji to an eat off and he had practically dragged her here; Shikamaru had warned her that Chouji's stomach was a force not to be reckoned with. It was delicious barbecue from what she could taste before inhaling the strips of grilled meat. She had lost to the big-boned man and had gained five extra pounds.

She was glad that this place had been spared from the attack, it held to many precious memories. Like that same night she had befriended Chouji and disgusted Ino. It was the first restaurant she had eaten at in Konoha during the chuunin exams. She apologized to Tenten here for her callous behavior during their duel. She first hugged Shikamaru in that very booth. He had remembered her birthday and had given her polish and oils for her tessen, making the remark that 'it was to clean off his blood from the beast of a weapon'.

"This part of the district is nearly complete from the rebuilding." Temari threw out a random line, hoping that Shikamaru would bite.

"District A, where we were, is the roughest. We decided to wait on it, primarily because it was inns and commercial spacing. The less outsiders that come to Konoha the less knowledge they have of how devastated the village is." Shikamaru waved at the owner and pointed at Temari. The older man gave him an attaboy wink and hurried off into the kitchen.

"No one believes me when I say that you have a huge ego." Temari kicked his shin under the table.

"Can you blame me for wanting people to recognize that I'm with you." He stretched in the booth. Temari took this opportunity to observe his muscles stretching beneath his black long-sleeve shirt; he was a fine specimen indeed.

"I can see the appeal in that, I am pretty damn good-looking."

A waiter came over with a plate of cooked teriakyi barbecue and two green teas. They murmured a polite thank you and dug into their meals. Temari was sort of disappointed she didn't get to grill it herself but the owner knew that Shikamaru preferred it this way. The less work the better was Shikamaru's motto. Lunch was filled with peaceful silence, neither had the need to fill the time with pointless chatter. She liked it this way, she liked him better when he wasn't pissing her off which usually required at least one-sided conversation.

"The museum is opening back up tomorrow." Temari followed his gaze to a sign across the street that read _Konoha Museum Grand Reopening: New Never Been Seen Before Documents On Display!_

"Nerd." She chuckled shoving a large strip of meat into her mouth. "When I told you to get me old documents you should have borrowed those."

Shikamaru grunted, "They are probably just agriculture records but I'd still like to see. Want to go with me?"

"I would like that." Temari kept her gaze fixed on the museum's sign.

How could she tell him that she was going to race straight home after the meeting; that she probably would never see him again. They had started a relationship that had been six years in the making and it would end four days in. The gods must find joy in her suffering. She just told Shikamaru the other day that cliche's never end well in the real world and she should have been listening to her own good sense. The biggest cliche' is falling for your best friend and she got a huge fat check mark for that fuck up.

"Is that Sakura running around outside?" Shikamaru sat up from his seat, looking out the window with peaked interest.

"I don't know how I should take that new information. You do remember that you're on a date, right?" She growled. Temari caught sight of the pink haired woman in question with a new found malice as she spun and ran frantically in the street. A civilian pointed in their direction and Sakura sped towards them.

"Shit. What now?" Temari groaned.

"Temari!" Sakura hauled her from her seat and began dragging her from the restaurant. "The shinobi representatives from Iwa are here and they are creating a scene. The main guy is demanding to see you and only you."

"Lucky me." Temari sighed and followed after the kunoichi.

The three Iwa shinobi were grouped next to communal dinner, next to Konoha's shinobi and volunteers. Shino, Tenten and Chouji were with the Iwa shinobi and by the look on their faces they were not happy to have the strangers there. As she drew closer she began to make out what they were discussing.

"-it would be for the best if you continued to your housing for the rest of the evening." Shino offered to the group, a hint of force behind his voice.

"I'll leave when I see-" The silver haired Iwa shinobi turned and their eyes met; teal on gray. "Temari."

Ichiru. They had sent Ichiru, just as she had feared. He made his way over to her and each step made her stomach twist painfully. Shikamaru was at her side and she could feel the tension radiating from his body, even though he looked as cool as a cucumber.

"Temari, who is your _friend_?" Ichiru stood straight, trying to meet Shikamaru's height.

Shikamaru wrapped his arm around Temari's shoulders and the sensation melted the fears that were boiling to the surface. She wanted to scold him but his closeness granted her a momentary ease. "This is Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru this is Ichiru Himura, son of Iwa's Daiymo. Himura-san it would be best that your team rests, the Hokage has graciously offered us a hall very early in the morning."

"Love, its Ichiru, Himura-san is much too formal for our relationship. I heard you have an apartment around here." The silver-haired man eyed her frame for too long, "We'll stay with you, how does that sound?"

"Himura-san that would be-"

Shikamaru cut her off, "Where you come from is it appropriate to ask a woman to stay with her while her man is present?"

"Shikamaru!" Temari hissed, "Himura-san you're staying with the Aburame family, my accommodations are full at the time being; my apologies."

"It's like you have two sides, my love. The evil murderous bitch and this cordial princess." Ichiru reached out and stroked golden lock of her bangs and he glared at the shadow shinobi. "I'm so glad I didn't blind you; now I can watch the light fade from those haunting eyes."

Ichiru turned and joined with his team; the were led away by Shino towards the Aburame land.

Shikamaru growled, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

It was silent between them. Temari had to calm herself down; just being around Ichiru had make her physically sick. She felt like she needed to scrub his obvious gazes and vile affections from her flesh. Shikamaru was normally better in sticky situations but his protective side was endearing and arousing.

"I jump off buildings to save children and you step in to save the honor of your woman, this is how we are as human beings." Temari turned to him with her head cast down at her feet. "There will be no peace between Iwa and Suna."

"I know." He encompassed an arm around her frame and the other held her head firmly against his chest.

She tried to pry herself from him, feeling the eyes of their hopeful friends beating against her back. "Everyone is watching us."

"I'm not letting you go."

She plunged herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around him as tight as she could muster.

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry everyone for not updated last week, life happened. Ichiru is quite the little psychopath; I figured that only a mentally unstable person would attempt such things towards Temari. Lots of sexual tension going on between our couple; I don't know if I want them to have sex yet... tell me your thoughts._

_Shikamaru's dream in nutshell meant: Overpowering lust/physical and spiritual cleansing or the overcoming of negativity/the loss of strength at the hands of waiting for the unwanted change. They are all themes of this story and they are the hints of whats to come._


	7. Day Five

_Day Five_

Shikamaru woke with sun that morning and so did Temari. He listened to her shuffle around in her room; closing and shutting dresser drawers and the metallic clanking from her arsenal. She had taken a brisk shower, gathered her paperwork and left without attempting to wake him; much to his dismay. He knew better than to expect anything different from her. Temari was a solo act, letting people into her inner circle wasn't an easy task and even then they were kept at an arms distance.

Shikamaru had already concluded that she would be leaving after the meeting and probably wouldn't say goodbye to him; a typical thing for her to do. She always said goodbyes were too messy and that she didn't want him to get the impression that she wasn't going to come back to harass him. Maybe it would be better if they didn't say their farewells after all.

He got out of bed and padded towards her room. Clothes were strewn across the floor and the open drawers were empty; even her framed pictures were gone. A small glass bottle was left on the dresser and he recognized the caramel liquid as perfume. Shikamaru hesitantly reached for it, the potent aroma could be smelt even though it was capped. Temari had worn this yesterday, he wanted to tell her she smelt good and the makeup had accented her beauty well but he didn't want her to mock him more. He pocketed the bottle in his flak jacket to keep it safe and close by.

The living room was just as she left it last night, a tornado of paperwork and a grave yard of take out containers. After their date she had rushed home and tore through the boxes of documents, making sure she didn't miss anything that could be of use. Hours had past and after every paper had been read, she broke. Temari screamed in frustration, kicking a box into the air and sending papers sailing in all directions. She tore at her hair and slammed her fist into the drywall; making her twist in pain from her still bruised shoulder. It tore at his heart to see the agony written on her worried face; he'd never seen her so _helpless_.

All he could do was stand there and watch as her world crumbled around her.

He told her last night that he wasn't letting her go and that vow transcended further than their embrace. He was going to do all he could to stop the impending war and make sure that she was safe. Safe and far away from that Ichiru character. Shikamaru had lost him composure when confronting the Iwa shinobi but he couldn't help the emotions that surfaced: jealousy, hatred, and fear. Ichiru looked at her as if he were looking at a new play thing and she was willing to become that if it meant the safety of her village.

Shikamaru quickly got dressed and made his way to Hokage tower. The volunteers took the day off, so the morning was filled with ominous silence but Shikamaru preferred that than the clanking of hammers.

He rounded the corner and the tower doors came into sight. Tsunade stood there in his way with her arms crossed under her breasts.

"Shikamaru I can't let you go in there." The busty blonde blocked his entrance, "I've seen Temari in these kind of situations before and she becomes even more ruthless and persuasive; she can handle herself."

"I didn't come to stick my nose in situation that is none of my business. I came to speak to you." Shikamaru leveled with her gaze, "Can we speak in private?"

Intrigue and shock crossed her features but were gone as quickly as it came. She nodded her head and led Shikamaru to her office. Tsunade sat across from him eying him carefully. Shikamaru had too much on his mind to find his leader intimidating.

"So what subject are you going to give me a headache about now?" She folded her fingers together and rested her chin on her connected palms.

"Is the arranged marriage to strengthen the alliance between Suna and Konoha still on the table?" His heart raced, he could feel the throbbing pulse beating in his ears. He loved Temari and he would do almost anything to protect her, but the anxiety that was building in his gut was almost sickening.

"The Kazekage has made it clear that he wishes for us to stay out this, Shikamaru." Her face softened and smiled weakly, "If they agreed I would offer Konoha's aid however I don't think that we would be much help in our current condition."

"I'm hoping that just the threat of Konoha's intervention will be enough to scare Iwa off. The Tsuikage has been replaced by the earth Daiymo, perhaps we should send Sakura or Ino to inspect his condition; I don't think he would be too happy about the current events." Shikamaru offered.

Tsunade nodded in agreement, "I will see what can be done. What changed your mind about marrying Temari? I've been teasing you about it for the past several years, why now?"

"Do you want the honest reason or the reason I'm going to tell everyone?"

"Both." She grinned slyly. It was scary how all these women in his life can smile that same devilish smile.

"I'm head of the Nara clan now and I need to take a wife soon." Shikamaru paused, casting his glance off to the side and muttered. "And I love her."

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear that." Tsunade grinned as if she could die happy with that new knowledge. "I will send the Kazekage a formal letter for an arranged marriage and I'll get a medic nin to Iwa when I can spare one."

He released a long awaited breath and the weight on his shoulders lessened, "Thank you Hokage-sama."

She waved her hand at him, shooing him away. Shikamaru turned his attention to what was occurring on the third floor. He was going to put his talents to use and spy on the meeting. He didn't make it far down the hallway before he caught sight of his old classmate and comrade.

"Shikamaru." Shino greeted without moving an inch.

"Shino." Shikamaru knew he'd been caught and he tried to explain himself. "Look I don't-"

"They're waiting for you in the next room." Shino tilted his head, directing him further down the hall.

"Who? Never mind." Shikamaru slowly opened the door to reveal his friends crowding around a one-way mirror; they were already watching the meeting. Chouji, Ino, Sakura and Hinata.

"Shikamaru! You're late!" Ino scolded grabbing him by the collar and dragging him to the mirror.

He could see the room almost perfectly. Temari sat on one side of the long rectangle table while the three Iwa shinobi sat across from her. "What are they talking about?"

"We don't really know." Chouji chuckled at the blushing Hinata, "Ino kidnapped Hinata hoping that she could read lips because of her Byakugan. So far we've gotten that Temari thinks root-beer floats are stand offish and Ichiru thinks Temari looks like a tree on Sunday."

"I'm sorry." The shy woman hid her face in embarrassment.

"She's only made those two mistakes." Ino eagerly grabbed the girl, "What are they talking about?"

For the next two hours they listened to Temari bargain and offer different subsidies from her homeland only to have the Iwa shinobi bat them down. Suna's gross product revenues were horrendous in comparison to any other village; they solely relied on the craftsman production which was primarily glass. Temari had even put an arranged marriage back on the table before she offered any stock into their glass industry. Shikamaru couldn't believe that the Iwa shinobi were really going to allow her to go through everything just so they could tell her no. He read the frustration weighing on her brow and the heavy calming breaths she forced herself to take. He could barely contain himself; he wanted to tell her about his conversation with Tsunade, so she could tell them to fuck off.

"Uh- Temari-san's said 'Well that's everything on my end, why don't you inform me on Iwa's free hands'..." Hinata paused, her blush growing. "That can't be it."

"Demands." Shikamaru watched as Temari's eyes narrowed in on the two other men accompanying Ichiru. The skinny brunette man had dark circles under his eyes and hastily cleaned white smear on his left shoulder of his flak jacket. The dark-skinned mountain of a man that sat in the corner of the room seemed to detach himself from the conversation. Temari's eyes scanned his arms in particular; Shikamaru could see a series of long cuts along his forearm and it looked as if the man had practiced different stitching techniques on each.

"He asked her how she slept." Hinata said hesitantly, "He couldn't sleep because he kept thinking of her..."

Shikamaru felt the anger raging within him again. He was sure that Ichiru was thinking about her in all the perverted ways he could muster, but Shikamaru wasn't going to let him live a single one of those fantasies.

Hinata leaned closer to the class, "She is repeating herself asking him what Iwa's demands are."

Hinata gasped as the thin man spoke up, "The other man says that Iwa wants the total surrender of Suna."

"That's not an option." Shikamaru scoffed, white-knuckling the chair in front of him. "She wouldn't allow that."

Shikamaru could only watch as Ichiru leaned across the table till his nose touched Temari's. She didn't move and kept her sight locked with the silver-haired shinobi.

"I can't repeat what he is saying." Hinata looked away.

"We get the gist." Shikamaru's chest heaved with his ragged breath. He could only imagine what Ichiru saying that would cause that maniacal smile that swept from ear to ear. Ichiru swung his hand dramatically toppling the tall stack of papers that Temari had brought with. Temari bent over to grab the papers she'd spent most of the past two days working on.

"What is he doing?" Ino pushed past Sakura to look closer. Ichiru reached into his pocket and sprinkled something into the water glass on Temari's side of the table. "He's poisoning her!"

"Its alright." Shikamaru tried to calm his friend, "Temari has been taking small dosages of truth serum and poison since she was a child. She has built up enough tolerance to handle anything he slips her."

"What if it isn't poison?" Chouji's brow was furrowed with worry.

Shikamaru looked closely at Temari and by her narrowed eyes and flat-lined scowl that she knew what Ichiru had done. "She knows, so its her decision."

Temari collected all of the papers and sat back in her seat, she grabbed the water and held it as she stared down the three men.

Hinata focused in, "Temari-san is addressing the two other men, she is wondering how a medic and a new father would want to go straight back to war."

Shikamaru smirked as the scrawny brunette man shot to his feet; fear and anger clearly present on his features. Temari shook her head sadly but had a knowing smile playing on the sides of her lips, causing the man to panic more. Ichiru placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder causing him to sit back down.

"He's be-being vulgar again." The flaxen haired woman visibly tensed. She caught sight of a small knob next to the glass panel and turned it hesitantly. "What's this?"

_"-I am going to take such time exploring your body; I'll know it better than that boyfriend of yours every will." Ichiru's voice seethed into the room, catching the Konoha shinobi off guard. "I can't wait to hear you scream in pleasure and sheer agony. There will be no peace; I just wanted to see your beautiful face when I told you that you'll be mine soon enough, my love."_

_"If that is the final decision... so be it." Temari's face remained stoic and calm as she brought the cup to her lips and began to drink; she finished it without interruption. "So you can get the fuck out of Konoha or we can take this outside the village."_

_"Love, you know how to get me going." Ichiru winked at her as he motioned for his group to leave. "We'll be gone in an hour, try to say goodbye. Maybe we can have that tussle you're promising."_

_The men left the room with the medic nin pausing to whisper, "Flax seed and basil brew three times a day for the next week."_

Shikamaru could almost feel her rage radiating through the walls that separated them. He froze in place, unable to deter his watchful eye from her shaking form. He wanted to comfort her but he knew his efforts would be in vain. She needed to destroy something, to filter all of her anger into an object and see its demise. He could only stay in view, waiting for her to come to him.

Sakura put her palm against the glass, almost as if she hoped that would comfort the tempest in the other room. "There isn't a poison that can be cured by basil and flax seed. We use those herbs for chakra cleansing though..."

"Do you think it was meant to damage her chakra?" Shikamaru turned to the pink-haired woman, "That would make more sense as to why Ichiru was so flagrant in front of Temari. He didn't need to be afraid of a powerful retaliation."

Shikamaru turned to see if Temari had calmed down only to witness an empty room. "Shit."

He found himself fleeing the room in the attempt to catch the wind mistress. From the hallway to the levels below, Shikamaru ran to catch up with her. He couldn't pin down her chakra signal, either she was masking it or the drug was what he hypothesized; he was hoping for the ladder. Temari wouldn't let blocked or no chakra stop her from kicking some ass, whether or not it was in her best interest; her pride was on the line. He ran back to the apartment, avoiding the streets by using the rooftops as his trail. When he discerned that she hadn't returned he checked the Nara compound, her favorite food stands and finally back to Tsunade to see if she had left Konoha; which she confirmed that Temari was still in the village. That left the gate, to say "goodbye" to the Iwa shinobi.

People had already begun to crowd around the gate in attempts to gather gossip, several of his comrades were waiting there, as well as several hidden anbu. However, Temari wasn't present. Ichiru and his posse were lingering around the gate, most likely to see if Temari would show. Shikamaru pleaded within himself, begging that she didn't.

"Ah, I knew you'd come around sooner or later. And with a gift you shouldn't have." The silver-haired shinobi smiled wickedly.

Shikamaru turned to see Temari drawing near holding a glass case that held several pieces of parchment. She went to the museum; most likely in the attempt to see him. He examined her up and down and she seemed to be fine physically. Her chakra wasn't spiking nor was it dangerously low, nothing out of the ordinary.

"These documents were drawn up near the beginning of the creation of the main villages." Temari grinned victoriously, "Here it is signed by our villages that if one of us should try to steal land by: purchasing or plundering, the village in question had the right to challenge the opposing village to a duel. The museum the director also informed me that this agreement has been forgotten with time and has never been repealed nor amended."

"Temari, stop. I have news-" Shikamaru started but was silenced by Ichiru's booming voice.

"Well that's hardly a competition in a duel between the two of us. You would ultimately win my love." Ichiru sighed dramatically, "How about you sweeten the pot."

"You can choose our weapons."

The Iwa shinobi tapped his chin thoughtfully, "You can use a single kunai and I can use any weapon at my disposal."

"Deal." Temari handed off the glass container and dropped her weapons, spare for her kunai. "I've got you now you son-of-a-bitch."

* * *

**Author's Note: Gah, I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write; maybe I'm not as good with transition chapters as I am with thick content chapters. I've decided no sex for now. Next chapter will be the battle to end the war; but will it be a happy tale or tragic? Dun dun dun.**


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